View source for Women's World Chess Championship

{{Short description|Women's chess competition}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Ju Wenjun in 2024 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|240px|Current Women's World Chess Champion [[Ju Wenjun]] from China]]

The '''Women's World Chess Championship''' is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by [[FIDE]] since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute [[World Chess Championship]], which only came under FIDE's control in 1948. 

There have been three main eras in the history of the Women's World Championship: the Menchik era (1927–1944), the Soviet-dominated era (1950–1991), and the China-dominated era (1991–present). [[Vera Menchik]] won every Women's World Championship from 1927 to 1944. The Soviet Union won every Women's World Championship from 1950 until 1991, particularly Georgian champions [[Nona Gaprindashvili]] and [[Maia Chiburdanidze]], who combined for ten titles in a row, five each in succession. From 1991 onwards, China has 16 of the last 21 titles, spread across six different champions, including two four-time champions [[Xie Jun]] and [[Hou Yifan]], and the reigning five-time World Champion [[Ju Wenjun]].

The championship has not always used a match format, instead originating as a round-robin tournament. A lone championship match was played in 1937, and the championship switched to a match format as the predominant format in the 1950s. This continued until 2000, when a new knockout format was established. The match format returned in 2011 on an alternating basis with the knockout format before replacing the knockout format altogether in 2020.

==History==
{{further|Development of the Women's World Chess Championship}}

===Era of Menchik===
The Women's World Chess Championship was established by [[FIDE]] in 1927. FIDE wanted to gain control of the absolute World Championship and thought establishing a Women's World Championship they had already controlled would help them achieve that. They hosted a women's round-robin tournament as a side event at the [[Chess Olympiad]] and weeks after the tournament ended, decided to retroactively declare the winner of the tournament, [[Vera Menchik]], to be the inaugural Women's World Chess Champion.

Menchik remained champion until her death, defending the title seven additional times. Throughout Menchik's reign, the world championship was primarily contested in tournaments, in contrast to the absolute World Chess Championship that used a match format and a challenge system. The lone exception was a privately-organized [[Women's World Chess Championship 1937 match|1937 match]] between Menchik and [[Sonja Graf]], which was formally recognized by FIDE. The Women's World Championship continued to be held in conjunction with the Chess Olympiad. As a result, it was held on a more regular basis than the absolute World Championship that was only held sporadically whenever there was a challenger.

===Dominance of the Soviet Union players (1950–1991)===
[[File:WomensWorldChamp1981.jpg|right|thumb|1981 Women's World Championship, [[Maia Chiburdanidze]] vs. [[Nana Alexandria]]]]
Menchik died, still champion, in 1944 when her house in [[Clapham]] was bombed by a [[V-1 flying bomb]]. The next championship was another [[round-robin tournament]] in 1949–50 and was won by [[Lyudmila Rudenko]]. Thereafter a system similar to that of the overall championship was established, with a cycle of Candidates events (and later Interzonals) to pick a challenger to face the reigning champion.

The first such Candidates tournament was held in Moscow, 1952.  [[Elisaveta Bykova]] won and proceeded to defeat Rudenko with seven wins, five losses, and two [[draw (chess)|draws]] to become the third champion. The next Candidates tournament was won by [[Olga Rubtsova]].  Instead of directly playing Bykova, however, FIDE decided that the championship should be held between the three top players in the world.  Rubtsova won at Moscow in 1956, one-half point ahead of Bykova, who finished five points ahead of Rudenko.  Bykova regained the title in 1958 and defended it against [[Kira Zvorykina]], winner of a Candidates tournament, in 1959.

The fourth Candidates tournament was held in 1961 in [[Vrnjacka Banja]], and was utterly dominated by [[Nona Gaprindashvili]] of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], who won with ten wins, zero losses, and six draws.  She then decisively defeated Bykova with seven wins, no losses, and four draws in Moscow, 1962 to become champion.  Gaprindashvili defended her title against [[Alla Kushnir]] of Russia at [[Riga]] 1965 and [[Tbilisi]]/Moscow 1969.  In 1972, FIDE introduced the same system for the women's championship as with the overall championship: a series of Interzonal tournaments, followed by the Candidates matches.  Kushnir won again, only to be defeated by Gaprindashvili at Riga 1972. Gaprindashvili defended the title one last time against [[Nana Alexandria]] of Georgia at [[Pitsunda]]/Tbilisi 1975.

In 1976–1978 Candidates cycle, 17-year-old [[Maya Chiburdanidze]] of Georgia ended up the surprise star, defeating Nana Alexandria, [[Elena Akhmilovskaya]], and Alla Kushnir to face Gaprindashvili in the 1978 finals at Tbilisi.  Chiburdanidze soundly defeated Gaprindashvili, marking the end of one Georgian's domination and the beginning of another's.  Chiburdanidze defended her title against Alexandria at [[Borjomi]]/Tbilisi 1981 and [[Irina Levitina]] at [[Volgograd]] 1984.  Following this, FIDE reintroduced the Candidates tournament system.  Akhmilovskaya, who had earlier lost to Chiburdanidze in the Candidates matches, won the tournament but was still defeated by Chiburdanidze at Sofia 1986.  Chiburdanidze's final title defense came against [[Nana Ioseliani]] at [[Telavi]] 1988.

===Post-Soviet era (1991–2010)===
Chiburdanidze's domination ended in [[Manila]] 1991, where the young [[China|Chinese]] star [[Xie Jun]] defeated her, after finishing second to the still-active Gaprindashvili in an Interzonal, tying with [[Alisa Marić]] in the Candidates tournament, and then beating Marić in a tie-breaker match. Thus, Soviet domination in the women's section ended after 41 years.

It was during this time that the three Polgar sisters [[Susan Polgar|Susan]] (also known as Zsuzsa), [[Sofia Polgar|Sofia]] (Zsófia), and [[Judit Polgár|Judit]] emerged as dominant players. However they tended to compete in open tournaments, avoiding the women's championship.

Susan Polgar eventually changed her policy. She won the 1992 Candidates tournament in [[Shanghai]]. The Candidates final—an eight-game match between the top two finishers in the tournament—was a drawn match between Polgar and Ioseliani, even after two tiebreaks. The match was decided by a lottery, which Ioseliani won. She was then promptly crushed by Xie Jun (8½–2½) in the championship at [[Monaco]] 1993.

The next cycle was dominated by Polgar. She tied with Chiburdanidze in the Candidates tournament, defeated her easily in the match (5½–1½), and then decisively defeated Xie Jun (8½–4½) in [[Jaén Province, Spain|Jaén]] 1996 for the championship.

In 1997, Russian [[Alisa Galliamova]] and Chinese Xie Jun finished first and second, but Galliamova refused to play the final match entirely in China. FIDE eventually awarded the match to Xie Jun by default.

However, by the time all these delays were sorted out, Polgar had given birth to her first child. She requested that the match be postponed. FIDE refused, and eventually set up the championship to be between Galliamova and Xie Jun. The championship was held in [[Kazan]], [[Tatarstan]] and [[Shenyang]], China, and Xie Jun won with five wins, three losses, and seven draws.

In 2000 a [[Single-elimination tournament|knock-out event]], similar to the FIDE overall title and held alongside it, was the new format of the women's world championship. It was won by Xie Jun. In 2001 a similar event determined the champion, [[Zhu Chen]]. Another knock-out, this one held separately from the overall championship, in [[Elista]], the capital of the Russian republic of [[Kalmykia]] (of which FIDE President [[Kirsan Ilyumzhinov]] is president), from May 21 to June 8, 2004, produced [[Bulgaria]]n [[Antoaneta Stefanova]] as champion. As with Polgar five years prior, Zhu Chen did not participate due to pregnancy.

In 2006 the title returned to China. The new champion [[Xu Yuhua]] was pregnant during the championship.

In 2008, the title went to Russian grandmaster [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]], who, in the final, beat Chinese prodigy [[Hou Yifan]] 2½–1½, then aged 14 (see [[Women's World Chess Championship 2008]]).

In 2010 the title returned to China once again. [[Hou Yifan]], the runner-up in the previous championship, became the youngest ever women's world champion at the age of 16. She beat her compatriot WGM [[Ruan Lufei]] 2–2 (classic) 3–1 (rapid playoffs).

=== Yearly tournaments (2010–2018) ===
[[File:Women's World Chess Championship Tirana 2011.jpg|thumb|250px|Women's World Chess Championship, Tirana 2011]]
Beginning from 2010, the Women's World Chess Championship would be held annually in alternating formats. In even years a 64-player [[Single-elimination tournament|knockout]] system would be used, in the odd years a classical match featuring only two players would be held.<ref>[http://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/regulationsWWCC.pdf Regulations for the Women’s World Chess Championship Cycle]. FIDE.</ref> The 2011 edition was between the 2010 champion [[Hou Yifan]] and the winner of the [[FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2009–2011]]. Since [[Hou Yifan]] won the Grand Prix, her challenger was the runner-up, Koneru Humpy.<ref>[http://old.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-%7C%7Cs/3089-regulations-and-bidding-procedure-for-the-womens-grand-prix-2009-2010 "Regulations and Bidding Procedure for the Women's Grand-Prix 2009-2010"]. FIDE. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2019</ref>

In 2011 [[Hou Yifan]] successfully defended her women's world champion title in the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2011]] in Tirana, Albania against [[Koneru Humpy]]. Hou won three games and drew five in the ten-game match, winning the title with two games to spare.

[[Hou Yifan]] was knocked-out in the second round in [[Women's World Chess Championship 2012]], which was played in [[Khanty Mansiysk]]. [[Anna Ushenina]], seeded 30th in the tournament, won the final against [[Antoaneta Stefanova]] 3½–2½.

The [[Women's World Chess Championship 2013]] was a match over 10 games between defending champion Anna Ushenina and Hou Yifan who had won the [[FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2011–2012]]. After seven of ten games Hou Yifan won the match 5.5 to 1.5 to retake the title.

After Hou declined to defend her title at the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2015]], the title was won by [[Mariya Muzychuk]], who defeated [[Natalia Pogonina]] in the final.

Hou defeated Muzychuk 6–3 to reclaim the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2016]] title for her 4th championship in March 2016.

The following year [[Tan Zhongyi]] defeated [[Anna Muzychuk]] for the title at the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2017]].

Tan lost the title defending it against [[Ju Wenjun]] (with Hou not participating at this event) at the [[Women's World Chess Championship Match 2018]].

=== Return to match-only format ===
Due to various hosting and timing issues, the championships had varied from their intended annual calendar in recent years.<ref name="postponement">[https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2016/FIDE_News/GA_Agenda_2016/2016_General_Assembly_Agenda.pdf FIDE General Assembly Agenda] (5.20.8)</ref> FIDE held a [[Women's World Chess Championship 2018 (November)|second world championship in 2018]] in order to get back on schedule.

After the 2018 championship tournament the new FIDE president [[Arkady Dvorkovich]] announced the format would be changed back to matches only. He said the many different champions the yearly system created discredited the championship title as a whole.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ugra2018.fide.com/2018/10/13/a-dvorkovich-format-of-the-women-s-world-championship-cycle-will-be-changed/|title=A. Dvorkovich: Format of the Women's World Championship Cycle will be changed – Women's World Championship 2018|website=ugra2018.fide.com|date=2018-10-13|access-date=2019-10-10}}</ref> [[Aleksandra Goryachkina]] won the [[Women's Candidates Tournament 2019|Candidates tournament]], held in June 2019, to challenge for the World Championship. Ju Wenjun retained her title in the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2020|2020 Championship]].

Ju retained her title in the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2023|2023 championship]] against [[Lei Tingjie]] and in the [[Women's World Chess Championship 2025|2025 championship]] against [[Tan Zhongyi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIDE World Championship Cycle |url=https://wcc.fide.com/womencycle2020_2023.phtml |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=International Chess Federation (FIDE) |language=en}}</ref>

==Women's World Chess Champions==
{|class="wikitable"
!#||Name||Country||Years
|-
|1||[[Vera Menchik]]||{{flag|Russia}} (In Exile) <br> {{flag|Czechoslovakia}} <br> {{flag|United Kingdom}}||1927&ndash;1944
|-
|colspan="2" align="center"|None||N/A ([[World War II]])||1944&ndash;1950
|-
|2||[[Lyudmila Rudenko]]||rowspan="6" |{{flag|Soviet Union}}||1950&ndash;1953
|-
|3||[[Elisaveta Bykova]]||1953&ndash;1956
|-
|4||[[Olga Rubtsova]]||1956&ndash;1958
|-
|''(3)''||[[Elisaveta Bykova]]||1958&ndash;1962
|-
|5||[[Nona Gaprindashvili]]||1962&ndash;1978
|-
|6||[[Maia Chiburdanidze]]||1978&ndash;1991
|-
|7||[[Xie Jun]]||{{flag|China}}||1991&ndash;1996
|-
|8||[[Susan Polgar]]||{{flag|Hungary}}||1996&ndash;1999
|-
|''(7)''||[[Xie Jun]]||rowspan="2" |{{flag|China}}||1999&ndash;2001
|-
|9||[[Zhu Chen]]||2001&ndash;2004
|-
|10||[[Antoaneta Stefanova]]||{{flag|Bulgaria}}||2004&ndash;2006
|-
|11||[[Xu Yuhua]]||{{flag|China}}||2006&ndash;2008
|-
|12||[[Alexandra Kosteniuk]]||{{flag|Russia}}||2008&ndash;2010
|-
|13||[[Hou Yifan]]||{{flag|China}}||2010&ndash;2012
|-
|14||[[Anna Ushenina]]||{{flag|Ukraine}}||2012&ndash;2013
|-
|''(13)''||[[Hou Yifan]]||{{flag|China}}||2013&ndash;2015
|-
|15||[[Mariya Muzychuk]]||{{flag|Ukraine}}||2015&ndash;2016
|-
|''(13)''||[[Hou Yifan]]||rowspan="3" |{{flag|China}}||2016&ndash;2017
|-
|16||[[Tan Zhongyi]]||2017&ndash;2018
|-
|17||[[Ju Wenjun]]||2018&ndash;present
|}

==Editions and winners==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Host country
! Host city
! World champion
! Runner-up
! W
! L
! D
! Format
|-
! colspan="9"| Tournament formats (1927–1944)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1927|1927]]
| {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
| [[London]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Sweden}} [[Katarina Beskow]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 10
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| RR (12 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1930|1930]]
| {{flag|Weimar Republic|name=Germany}}
| [[Hamburg]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Austria}} [[Paula Wolf-Kalmar]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| rowspan = 2 | Double RR (5 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1931|1931]]
| {{flag|Czechoslovakia}}
| [[Prague]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Austria}} [[Paula Wolf-Kalmar]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1933|1933]]
| {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
| [[Folkestone]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[Edith Charlotte Price]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 14
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| Double RR (8 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1935|1935]]
| {{flagu|Poland|1928}}
| [[Warsaw]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Poland|1928}} [[Regina Gerlecka]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| RR (10 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1937 (match)|1937 Jul]]
| {{flagu|Austria}}
| [[Semmering, Austria|Semmering]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Germany|Nazi}} [[Sonja Graf]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| 16-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1937 (tournament)|1937 Aug]]
| {{flagu|Sweden}}
| [[Stockholm]]
| {{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Italy|1861}} [[Clarice Benini]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 14
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| [[Swiss-system tournament|Swiss]] (26 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1939|1939]]
| {{flagu|Argentina}}
| [[Buenos Aires]]
| {{flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[Vera Menchik]]
| {{flagdeco|FIDE}} [[Sonja Graf]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 17
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| RR (20 players)
|-
| colspan="9" style="text-align:center;"| Menchik died in 1944 as reigning world champion.
|-
| colspan="9" style="text-align:center;"| [[Interregnum]] (1944–1950)
|-
! colspan="9"| Match format (1950–1999)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1949–50|1950]]
| {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Lyudmila Rudenko]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Olga Rubtsova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| RR (16 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1953|1953]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1936}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Lyudmila Rudenko]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| 14-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1956|1956]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Olga Rubtsova]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| Octuple RR (3 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1958|1958]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Olga Rubtsova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| rowspan = 17 | 16-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1959|1959]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Kira Zvorykina]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1962|1962]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1965|1965]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Riga]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Alla Kushnir]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1969|1969]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Tbilisi]] <br> [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Alla Kushnir]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1972|1972]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Riga]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Alla Kushnir]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1975|1975]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Pitsunda]] <br> [[Tbilisi]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nana Alexandria]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1978|1978]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union|1955}}
| [[Tbilisi]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1981|1981]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| [[Borjomi]] <br> [[Tbilisi]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Nana Alexandria]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1984|1984]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| [[Volgograd]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Irina Levitina]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1986|1986]]
| {{flag|People's Republic of Bulgaria|1971|name=Bulgaria}}
| [[Sofia]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Elena Donaldson-Akhmilovskaya|Elena Akhmilovskaya]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1988|1988]]
| {{flagu|Soviet Union}}
| [[Telavi]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Nana Ioseliani]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 11
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1991|1991]]
| {{flagu|Philippines|1986}}
| [[Manila]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xie Jun]]
| {{flagdeco|Soviet Union}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1993|1993]]
| {{flagu|Monaco}}
| [[Monaco]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xie Jun]]
| {{flagdeco|Georgia (country)|1990}} [[Nana Ioseliani]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1996|1996]]
| {{flagu|Spain}}
| [[Jaén, Spain|Jaén]]
| {{flagdeco|Hungary}} [[Susan Polgar]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xie Jun]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align:center;"| Polgar [[Glossary of chess#forfeit|forfeited]] title in 1999.
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 1999|1999]]
| {{flagu|Russia}} <br> {{flagu|China}}
| [[Kazan]] <br> [[Shenyang]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xie Jun]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Alisa Galliamova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 7
|-
! colspan="9"| Knockout format (2000–2010)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2000|2000]]
| {{flagu|India}}
| [[New Delhi]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xie Jun]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Qin Kanying]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| rowspan = 6 | KO (64 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2001|2001]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Moscow]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Zhu Chen]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2004|2004]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Elista]]
| {{flagdeco|Bulgaria}} [[Antoaneta Stefanova]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Ekaterina Kovalevskaya]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2006|2006]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Yekaterinburg]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Xu Yuhua]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Alisa Galliamova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2008|2008]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Nalchik]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Hou Yifan]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2010|2010]]
| {{flagu|Turkey}}
| [[Hatay Province|Hatay]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Hou Yifan]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ruan Lufei]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1+2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+2
|-
! colspan="9"| Alternating formats (2011–2018)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2011|2011]]
| {{flagu|Albania}}
| [[Tirana]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Hou Yifan]]
| {{flagdeco|India}} [[Koneru Humpy]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| 10-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2012|2012]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Khanty-Mansiysk]]
| {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} [[Anna Ushenina]]
| {{flagdeco|Bulgaria}} [[Antoaneta Stefanova]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1+1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+1
| KO (64 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2013|2013]]
| {{flagu|China}}
| [[Taizhou, Jiangsu|Taizhou]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Hou Yifan]]
| {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} [[Anna Ushenina]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| 10-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2015|2015]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Sochi]]
| {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} [[Mariya Muzychuk]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Natalia Pogonina]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| KO (64 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2016|2016]]
| {{flagu|Ukraine}}
| [[Lviv]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Hou Yifan]]
| {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} [[Mariya Muzychuk]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| 10-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2017|2017]]
| {{flagu|Iran}}
| [[Tehran]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Tan Zhongyi]]
| {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} [[Anna Muzychuk]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1+1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+1
| KO (64 players)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2018 (May)|2018 May]]
| {{flagu|China}}
| [[Shanghai]] <br> [[Chongqing]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ju Wenjun]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Tan Zhongyi]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| 10-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2018 (November)|2018 Nov]]
| {{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Khanty-Mansiysk]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ju Wenjun]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Kateryna Lagno]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1+2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2+2
| KO (64 players)
|-
! colspan="9"| Match format (2019–present)
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2020|2020]]
| {{flagu|China}}<br>{{flagu|Russia}}
| [[Shanghai]]<br>[[Vladivostok]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ju Wenjun]]
| {{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Aleksandra Goryachkina]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 3+1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 6+3
| rowspan = 3 | 12-game match
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2023|2023]]
| {{Flagu|China}}
| [[Shanghai]]<br>[[Chongqing]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ju Wenjun]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Lei Tingjie]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
|-
| [[Women's World Chess Championship 2025|2025]]
| {{Flagu|China}}
| [[Shanghai]]<br>[[Chongqing]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Ju Wenjun]]
| {{flagdeco|China}} [[Tan Zhongyi]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
|}

<small>Key: RR = [[round-robin tournament]], KO = [[Single-elimination tournament|knockout tournament]]</small>

===Women's World Champions by number of title match victories===
The table below organises the women's world champions in order of championship wins. A successful defense counts as a win for the purposes of this table, even if the match is drawn. If number of championship wins is identical, the number of years as champion is used as tie-breaker. If both numbers are the same, the players are listed by year of first victory at world championships (in chronological order).

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Champion !!Number of wins !!Years as champion
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Czechoslovakia 01|{{flagicon|RUS}} {{flagicon|TCH}} {{flagicon|UK}} [[Vera Menchik]]}} ||8|| 17
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Soviet Union 04|{{flagicon|URS|1955}} [[Nona Gaprindashvili]]}} ||5|| 16
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Soviet Union 05|{{flagicon|URS}} [[Maia Chiburdanidze]]}} ||5|| 13
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 06|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Ju Wenjun]]}} ||5|| 7
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 01|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xie Jun]]}} ||4|| 7
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 04|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Hou Yifan]]}} ||4|| 5
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Soviet Union 02|{{flagicon|URS|1955}} [[Elisaveta Bykova]]}} ||3|| 7
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Soviet Union 01|{{flagicon|URS|1936}} [[Lyudmila Rudenko]]}} ||1|| 3
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Hungary 01|{{flagicon|HUN}} [[Susan Polgar]]}} ||1|| 3
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 02|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Zhu Chen]]}} ||1|| 3
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Soviet Union 03|{{flagicon|URS|1955}} [[Olga Rubtsova]]}} ||1|| 2
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Bulgaria 01|{{flagicon|BUL}} [[Antoaneta Stefanova]]}} ||1|| 2
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 03|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Xu Yuhua]]}} ||1|| 2
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Russia 01|{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Alexandra Kosteniuk]]}} ||1|| 2
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Ukraine 01|{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Anna Ushenina]]}} ||1|| 1
|-
|align=left| {{sort|Ukraine 02|{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Mariya Muzychuk]]}} ||1|| 1
|-
|align=left| {{sort|China 05|{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Tan Zhongyi]]}} ||1|| 1
|}

==See also==
* [[Development of the Women's World Chess Championship]]
* [[World Chess Championship]]
* [[Women's World Team Chess Championship 2009]]
* [[List of female chess players]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc-womn.htm WCC for Women (Interzonal, Candidates, World Championship)]
*[https://www.mark-weeks.com/aboutcom/aa04c20.htm A history of women's world chess champions]
*[https://en.chessbase.com/post/women-s-world-che-championship-2006 Chessbase report on 2006 championship]
*[https://womenworldchampionship2025.fide.com/womenchesschampions FIDE article about women's world chess champions]

{{Women's World Chess Championships}}
{{Chess}}
{{Women in chess|state=expanded}}
{{Chess international championships}}
{{Main world championships}}

[[Category:Women's World Chess Championships| ]]
[[Category:Women's chess competitions]]
[[Category:Women's world championships|Chess]]
[[Category:World championships in chess|Women]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1927]]